


You Can Leave Your Mask On

by Fair_Feather_Friend



Series: SexyCatGuyNumber9 vs The Virgin Vigilante [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Coitus Interruptus, Humor, Identity Porn, M/M, Sex Club, Sex Pollen, Super Villains, Yet no actual sex, super heroes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-20
Updated: 2019-10-20
Packaged: 2020-12-24 17:42:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21103421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fair_Feather_Friend/pseuds/Fair_Feather_Friend
Summary: When the paragon of purity, Halo, mistakes a masked party at a sex club for a supervillain convention, it's up to a sexy guy in a mask to show him the ropes. But just like the party, nothing is as it seems.





	You Can Leave Your Mask On

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sandrine Shaw (Sandrine)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sandrine/gifts).

> I'm very nervous about posting this. Please be gentle.  
I have no idea what tags to pick.  
I almost titled this SexyCatGuyNumber9 vs The Virgin Vigilante.  
This is a treat.

**One**

It was a dramatic entrance. It should be, he'd scored top of the class on making an entrance. The built in spotlight his powers gave him certainly helped. He posed flexing his muscles, golden hair gleaming as bright as the sun - well not literally, he didn’t want to blind anyone unless he really had to.

Halo burst through the doors, glowing brilliantly. "Evildoers! Surrender now or be enlightened!" he began the speech he had rehearsed the entire way here.

All eyes were upon him. So many more than he’d expected. This was his moment to shine.

There was a large ballroom below, with villains everywhere; gathered around tables, draped over furniture, all in various states of undress, with absolutely no shame. They were villains of course they had no shame. The one thing they all kept on was their masks. It wasn’t how he’d expected a villain convention to look, but they were undoubtedly doing villainous things in their opulent surroundings, that involved the removal of clothes and much skin on display.

The presence of heroes, however, was entirely unexpected. Particularly to see those heroes mingling with the villains, with no regard for propriety, or proper attire, which heroes normally considered extremely important. Halo had memorised the Hero Handbook and this was certainly not acceptable behaviour.

They must be brainwashed. Or traitors. Or both. Halo needed a speech to fix things. Show them the error of their ways. And if not there'd be fighting! He always came top of the fight classes. He’d show them the light and free them from this spell.

A dark clad figure leapt up onto one of the tables, narrowly avoiding putting a foot in the canapes. Black cat suit, full-face cat-mask that left just his mouth uncovered and eyes visible, cat-ears, he could have been any number of cat themed heroes or villains.

"Vigilante! You cannot hope to contend with SexyCatGuyNumberNine!"

That was not a name that Halo recognised. "I am a Hero, not a Vigilante."

"Of course you are, which is why you're showing off your muscles not your warrant."

"Justice needs no warrants."

"Actually, you'll find that it does, otherwise it's not justice at all, it's vigilantism. And as SexyCatGuyNumberNine, it's my duty to teach all vigilantes a lesson in bad behaviour."

It wasn’t the skin-tight catsuit that left everything to the imagination and showed off a slender yet athletic physique without showing even the most tantalising hint of skin. There were far more impressive bodies on display in the room. It wasn’t even that speech that set Halo’s heart racing in anticipation, but the self-assured smirk, that Halo longed to wipe off his lips. Preferably with his tongue.

Focus. Focus. Focus. Halo wasn’t used to being so distracted. "I don’t need a warrant if I actively witness the wrongdoing."

"And you see a lot of wrong around here?"

Halo tore his gaze away from his opponent to scan the rest of the crowd. Doppelgangers. There were duplicates of several heroes and villains. Or clones. Or mirror universe counterparts.

Tarot. There was Tarot amongst them. Halo’s idol, his role model, the boy, man, who he could never quite measure up to. But Tarot had been dead for years, cut down far too young, before Halo had ever had a chance to meet him. Surely if he’d been resurrected the entire Hero community would have celebrated and Halo himself would have been out of a job. He’d not sought to be the replacement but it had somehow happened anyway, and even now he could feel the burden of responsibility, the shoes that would always be too big to fill.

But that Tarot was too old, and the costume wasn’t quite right, and the more Halo looked the less sense things made.

No one else moved to surrender, or to fight him, or issue a challenge. They just all stared up and watched, a few murmurs moving through the crowd.

"Call that a rhetorical question, of course the Virgin Vigilante’s going to disapprove of licentious fornication." SexyCatGuyNumberNine was still speaking. "Hey, I’m talking. How'd you get the glowing effect? LEDs?"

"I am Halo, Beacon of Light in the Dark."

"Sure you are." SexyCatGuyNumberNine replied. "Well I for one am de-lighted that the Lustruous Luminary has deigned to grace us mere mortals with his presence." He held out both his hands, wrists touching each other, the gesture setting alight Halo’s blood. "You want to tie me up? Show me the error of my ways?"

In that moment there was nothing Halo wanted more. He reached for the light. It would be a simple matter, to coax it into doing his bidding, to have that dark-clad form restrained by tendrils of light, completely at his mercy.

"Sir, if you'd kindly step off the table please." There were security guards, two unmasked men and a tall woman in identical sharp black uniforms. "There are other rooms better set up for such athletic pursuits."

SexyCatGuyNumberNine leapt from the table, as graceful as any cat, his back heel accidentally catching one of the champagne flutes knocking it to the ground with a crash. He landed, wobbly, atop the large unicorn statue, clambering up to the top of its horn.

"The statue is not an improvement, Sir." The woman stated.

"I beg to differ," SexyCatGuyNumberNine’s gaze darted around for his next target.

"Sir! Not the chandelier!" One of the guards helpfully yelled.

Nine’s face lit up. YES THE CHANDELIER!!!

Nine threw himself into the air, and grabbed for it... in a cacophony of light and glass - and it could have, should have been disastrous, but Halo instinctively flung his powers out to stop the entire contraption from crashing down.

Nine seemed oblivious. He swung haphazardly, and in a feat of aerial excellence, flipped himself into the air, grabbing one of the many decorative drapes. Fabric tore from its hanging as he tried to rappel down it. He crashed into a pillar, immediately springing away from it, narrowly missing the balcony Halo was on, grasping frantically at the balustrade for purchase.

Halo did what any Hero would do, and leaned over, grabbing SexyCatGuyNumberNine by the scruff - well collar, and dragged him up to safety.

SexyCatGuyNumberNine was, unsurprisingly, shorter than Halo, but most men were. Most people were not designed to be the perfect man. Still, SexyCatGuyNumberNine was sexy, in fact he was the most desirable person Halo had ever met, which was odd because Halo hadn’t even known he’d a thing for scrappy looking cats before now. But there was that slender muscle, which Halo just longed to run his hands over. He smelled amazing, crisp, clean, but there was something deep, rich beneath that.

Nine gasped, trying to catch his breath, and brush Halo’s strong hands away from his neck. "I'm not into breathplay."

Nine’s eyes were striking, beautiful, gold, cat-like, oh so unusual.

"So, SexyCatGuyNumberNine..."

"Call me Nine."

"So Nine," Halo quickly amended. Keep it professional. He had to keep it professional. "What’s going on around here?"

"What do you think is going on?" That wasn't an answer. That was a person buying time. Or the sort of question Solitaire would ask him when he was trying to coax him into thinking for himself.

"Super-Villain convention."

Nine chuckled. "And you just thought you'd show up, on your own, and arrest everyone?"

Halo nodded. "Of course."

"Damn, you did... seriously, Halo, did they drop you on your head? Did you think this through at all. Aren't you still in training?"

"It was time for me to prove myself and show some initiative. Let everyone know what I could do so they’d start sending me out on real missions."

"How'd you even find out about this 'super villain convention'?"

"A Hero does not reveal his sources."

"Was it Mike? This seems like the sort of thing he’d do."

"I don’t know a Mike."

"Oh what’s he going by now, Mynah, Mimic, Mockingbird?"

"I don’t know who you’re talking about."

"He’s on your team. You’re still with the Junion? Maybe it wasn’t him. Maybe someone else just decided to humiliate you instead."

"I’m not humiliated. It was an honest tip-off."

"It was a lie." Nine sighed. "It's not a super-villain convention. It's a sex party. Lots of people in costumes. It's a kink thing."

Oh. OH. Oh no. But if that was the case… that meant… his eyes roamed up and down Nine’s very nice form.

"So villains come here to have sex? With heroes?" Halo could work with that.

"No... Civilians come here to dress up as sexy versions of heroes and villains and then engage in consensual sexual activities with each other, while keeping their identities secret. It's a type of game. Pretend play. At an exclusive club. Of which you’re not a member."

"So it’s not robot clones from a mirror universe?"

"Thankfully no," Nine smiled.

"And that Tarot?"

"What?" Nine startled and scanned the crowd, searching.

"I saw him in the crowd."

"Oh. Really bad taste costume, but nothing else. Just civilians being civilians. No need for a Hero to be here. None of it's illegal. There's licenses and things and a contract you need to sign to participate and a lot of safeguards to ensure everything is safe, sane and consensual."

That was a relief. "Okay."

Nine glanced at the balcony door. "In about a minute security's going to show up in here and try and escort you out, since you’re not a member. Just go with them. You can't fight them."

"I can. I'm very good at fighting."

"Of course you are. But don't." Nine said. "They're unpowered civilians, doing their job. Which is to protect the peace of this very legal party and all the influential guests down below."

Just as Nine predicted the security guards burst in, Halo took advantage of that moment to throw himself against Nine and smash their lips together. The kiss would have been much better if Nine responded instead of staring at him, dumbfounded.

"Sirs. You know the rules about setting up scenes without all participants consent. That includes observers."

"Yes. We just got over-excited. It won't happen again." Halo blurted out. "It's my first time." He flashed his brightest, most charming smile at them. Something still wasn't adding up,

Nine fished out a shiny black and gold card from within his utility belt and gestured with it.

"The special guest." The security guard frowned. "We were under the impression you were going to be discreet."

"This is discreet," Nine said.

"Monsieur did not mention that you would have a guest."

"It wouldn’t have been discreet to mention it, would it have?" Halo interrupted.

"Sorry to bother you, Sirs. Try not to do anything too dangerous, unless you're in the proper rooms and have signed the appropriate waivers."

The youngest of the guards smiled, brightly at Halo, barely paying Nine any attention at all. "That was an amazing entrance. I love your outfit. You almost had me believing the holier than thou Halo was actually here. I always preferred Tarot, but you fill out that costume so well. I could become a convert."

Nine glared at the guard, a possessive arm snaking around Halo’s waist. "Shouldn’t you be getting back to work?"

"Shouldn’t you?" The Guard countered.

"Not appropriate," The woman gave the youngest guard a stern look. "If all is in order here then we will be on our way." With that the older two guards practically shoved the third out of the room.

Nine immediately sprung away from Halo. "What the... you don't just grab people and kiss them. What did you think you were doing?"

"Seemed the easiest way to persuade them I belonged here."

Nine groaned. "Consent."

"You're at a sex club."

"Yes. And in a super sexy outfit. I'm irresistible, I know. But that’s still not consenting, and also not an excuse. Didn't you go through the sexual harassment training?"

"That's for harassing women. Men can't be harassed."

"Who've they put in charge of... uh never mind." Nine frowned. "Look, it's not a villain convention, it’s a civilian party with a mostly straight crowd, so if you're into guys... well hot as you are you'll probably find a few willing to experiment. Just... You should go home. Keep that reputation intact. On the list of top 10 heroes it'd be most scandalous to see at a sex party you're undoubtedly up there. The press would pay a fortune for that story."

"But everyone thinks I'm just pretending to be Halo. So I can do anything and not worry about my reputation."

"I'm not sure if you're really clever, or really stupid. Okay, let me put it this way. I know your identity. I know journalists. I could do with a sudden influx of cash."

"You wouldn't."

"You don't know me." Nine's gaze kept drifting over the balcony to take in the room below. "Go home Halo."

"Why're you here, Nine?"

"Why does anyone come to a sex party?" Nine’s wasn’t even looking at him.

"Okay. Let's do it then." Halo blurted out.

"What?"

"Sex. Here. Now."

"On this balcony?"

"Sure, why not?"

"Because you're the Beacon of Purity himself, the Virgin Vigilante, utterly Angelic Asshole."

"I’m not an Asshole."

"No, you’re not, you’re the Paragon of Perfection. I am not deflowering you in the middle of a sex party."

"I'm not a virgin."

"Yeah, yeah. Your whole reputation is built on being a modern day Galahad. Raised in the Garden of Eden, free from all sin."

"I could show you how not a virgin I am."

"And now you're sounding desperate. Go home, Halo. Look, someone sent you here, as a prank. Go find them and get some revenge."

"Revenge is unheroic. I’d rather stay here, try my chances with you." Halo stepped closer, putting a hand on Nine’s arm, trying to draw his gaze.

"You’re not actually attracted to me. Do you even like men?"

"Yes. I’m gay." Halo said, lips twisting into a smile. "Like, totally, utterly, stay in the closet don’t let anyone find out, it’d be terrible press, big scandal, if they did." He was a hero so he was meant to care about those sorts of things. Reputation was extremely important. "But I trust you."

"Fuck that." Nine growled. " I hate them. They’re still on that bullshit? There’s absolutely nothing wrong with being gay and you shouldn’t have to hide it."

"They’re looking out for me. Trying to protect me."

"No one gives a shit about who you do and don’t like. The public won’t care."

"It might tarnish Solitaire’s reputation."

"Let him handle that then. Does he know about you? This wasn’t his idea was it?"

"I told him. He thinks my private life should be kept private."

"Fuck him."

"Don’t say that. He’s my guardian, he’s ancient, and that’d be inappropriate."

"Fine. But this is a straight party, so you really should go home." Nine said.

"Is it men you’re not attracted to, or just me?"

"Do you have a one track mind? Look, you’re a good kid..."

"I’m twenty."

"Yeah, and that’s what, two years since you’ve been out in the real world? There’s age and there’s experience. You’ve still so much to learn."

"Teach me?"

Nine groaned. "That wasn’t a come on."

"If this really is a sex party, why aren’t you having sex? Something’s going on, and I can’t figure it out, or why you’re so adamant that I leave."

Nine sighed.

"You’ve some sort of scheme going on, and me showing up has thwarted your plans. Is it related to why you’re so irresistible?"

"I’m what?"

"Like, the sexiest guy I’ve ever met. And I know it’s your codename but also I keep thinking of how incredible it’d be to peel that catsuit off of you and lick..."

"Stop!" Nine said. "I’m not doing anything to you. I shouldn’t be irresistible. Fuck, one of the guards hit on you."

"They did?"

"Yeah. And they’re not supposed to. No fraternising with guests." Nine pulled out his phone, and started pressing buttons. Halo tried to get a look at what he was doing but the screen just showed blurred.

"So there’s some sort of compulsion, emotional manipulation, pheromone effect going on? Which you’re immune to? But you said this is a sex club. Isn’t that meant to happen?"

"No. Halo, if you’re finding me irresistible then you’ve been compromised. Go, extract yourself from the situation and let me deal with it."

"I can help." Halo said.

"I don’t need your help. You’re just going to get in the way." The room’s speakers shrieked with feedback, and Nine frowned. "Is there anything weird going on with the lights?"

"Not that I can tell. You smell amazing though."

It was like a switch flipped on Nine.

"Do you know how tempting you are?" Nine said, stepping closer. "There’s an oh so easy way to get you to do what I ask, isn’t there?" His fingers brushed Halo’s jaw, drawing his attention, the gentlest of caresses. "Lucky for you I find the very idea utterly abhorrent." There was a click as he closed a cuff on Halo’s wrist, the other end snapped onto the railing. "Stay out of this!"

And with that said Nine disappeared over the balcony.

Abhorrent. He was abhorrent? Unnatural. Halo had heard it before, you didn’t get cast out of Eden without hearing such things. The cuff was diasteel, standard issue for dealing with anyone that might have powers. He could burn through it, but it’d take a little time. Much quicker to go through the railing.

Halo called the light, trying to focus it down to a narrow point, released, and the railing exploded into flames. Too much power. It’d been a while since he’d misjudged that badly. He should leap down and…

Someone screamed at the fire. Fire alarms blared.

He needed to… wanted to follow Nine. But if the fire spread. He reached for his powers again to extinguish the flame but something felt off, wrong.

The guards rushed in carrying a fire extinguisher. They got the fire put out. And thankfully no one had seen Halo set it and spontaneous railing combustion seemed like such a reasonable explanation. And in the chaos Halo didn’t even see where Nine went.

* * *

**Two**

Technically, Halo wasn't meant to patrol alone but it wasn't as if anything ever happened that required the presence of two people. Patrolling was simply a preventative presence, a visible sign that Heroes were out there, doing their duty, helping cats cross the road and old ladies down from trees. One person could do that as easily as two.

Mimic had come down with a terrible case of mikeanthropy, as he called it, a more virulent strain of lycanthropy that didn't involve turning into a werewolf, but did mean he was too ill to work. Normally someone else was meant to fill in, but with the entire Junior Union having exclusive tickets for The Pirate Princess they'd all been reluctant to volunteer and Halo had said he'd be happy to just do it alone..

It didn't matter. Halo could easily take care of it himself. It was nice to be able to walk the streets without Mimic's endless chatter for a change, and knowing that none of the sounds he would hear would be tests. With Mimic there were always lots of tests, sounds to dart off after only to discover that there wasn't really a herd of velociraptors charging down the street, it was just his team-mate keeping him alert and on his feet. It was never boring with Mimic, not that patrol duty was a bore.

Without warning a shadow dropped down onto Halo, dark fabric enveloping his head. Don't breathe. He fought the urge to inhale as he was dragged, around a corner into the alley he’d been passing..

He threw out a burst of burning light igniting the fabric, while elbowing his assailant in the face, and stomping down where a foot should be. His assailant yelled something that was muffled by the fabric. Halo tore off the sack, throwing the flaming fabric at his assailant and only then did he gasp for air.

"The fuck, Halo, set yourself on fire, why don't you?"

"Nine!" Halo beamed, brilliantly, not literally since no one appreciated when dazzling smiles were exactly that. "It's so good to see you. I looked everywhere for you. You don't exist."

Nine did not smell as amazing as he did the first time they met, not that Halo could smell much beyond the burning fabric and acrid chemical fumes. Nine was dressed all in black, but lightly armoured this time, top of the line athletic super-suit that just hinted at the lean muscle beneath. He was sexy-hot, just not as overwhelmingly, irresistibly so as the last time they had met.

"Did you ever think that I didn't want to be found?" Nine backed off, poised either to leap into action, or run.

"I was worried about you." Halo admitted. "I wanted to be sure you were okay. What even went down at that club? I couldn’t get answers."

"What do you think happened?" Nine’s mask was pointier than the first time they'd met, the ears larger, and his eyes completely obscured from view behind dark lenses. It was disconcerting being unable to see his eyes.

"Some sort of airborne pheromone that lowered inhibitions and also destabilised powers. But by the time the investigators arrived there was no trace of anything. You managed to find out the source and put a stop to it?"

"Something like that," Nine admitted.

"They hushed it all up, not that there was anything to hush up, because no one noticed anything out of the ordinary, the staff knew nothing and I couldn’t find you. I'm not a liar. It wasn’t my imagination. They thought I was just making excuses for going to a sex club and finding people attractive."

Nine listened but it was impossible to read him, impossible to… this wasn’t going at all like Halo had hoped it would. He pushed on any way.

"Eden was… is a paradise that was founded on the principles of peace and love. I am not ashamed of who I am. I didn’t need them to keep it out of the press. I didn't need to make excuses for being there. I had a reason. I had a tip off."

And still Nine was silent for what seemed too long. Finally he asked. "Did you speak to Solitaire about this?"

"He’s been busy."

"He's your mentor. He shouldn't be too busy for you."

"I'm not a child." Halo didn't really want to speak about Solitaire. "You're wearing shades. I liked your eyes."

"You have light powers. I like my eyes too."

"So, what're you doing just now?"

Nine smirked. "Trying to kidnap you."

"Ah," Halo smiled.

"Didn't think you'd try and set your head on fire. Seriously, Halo."

"So where were you going to take me?"

"Hotel room, nearby," Nine admitted, shrugging nonchalantly.

"Okay, let's go."

"What the fuck, Halo? Can you at least put up some resistance? Maybe fight me a bit? Struggle some? Do you make a habit of going back to the hotel rooms of strangers you meet in alleys?"

"Only the sexy ones," Halo grinned. "You want to fight first?"

"Yes. I had it all planned out. It was going to be epic."

Halo lunged and grabbed Nine, slamming him up against a wall. "Do tell me more?" his grin broadened.

Nine's breath hitched, heartbeat racing, tongue darting out to wet his lips. Halo reached for tendrils of light but they slid right off of Nine, so he used his hands instead to pin Nine's wrists to the wall.

"It went something like this," Nine admitted, body arching against Halo's, head tilting upwards.

They kissed and Halo wasn't even sure who had initiated, Nine's mouth hot, desperate, on his own. It was everything he'd dreamed of, hoped for in those lonely nights since they'd last met. He was melting into pleasure, and then there was sharp pain on his wrist, as Nine moved too fast, twisting out of the grip, kicking off the wall, and somehow managing to put a little distance between them.

"Although the other way around." Nine's grin was wild, feral, all teeth and so much promise.

Halo pulled on the light again to lash out at Nine but again they simply failed to make contact.

"Stop cheating," Nine snarled.

Halo laughed.

"You could at least take me seriously." The smirk on Nine's lips said everything though, it was the exact same expression he'd had just before he'd leapt for the chandelier.

Halo charged him.

Halo should have had the advantage. He was the hero after all. He had the height, the reach, the muscles, and the training. But every move he made Nine had a counter for. Nine was fast, graceful, it was almost a dance, if only dancing were unpredictable, and involved exciting jabs of pain.

And then Halo was flying, crashing down on his back. He didn't even catch the move; likely a throw leveraging his own strength against him. And there was a SuperSexyCatGuyNumberNine atop him kissing as if their lives depended on it.

This way was so good too.

Agile hands ran over Halo’s prone body, and not for the first time was Halo frustrated by the barrier his suit provided, but there had to be a better place for this, as much as he hated to stop.

Halo waited for a natural pause in the kissing. "So... kidnapping?" He wished he could see Nine's eyes.

"Yeah."

"How were you even going to get me there?"

"I had a plan."

"Going splendidly, I see."

Nine smirked. "Indeed."

Halo had a sudden thought. "Are you being a distraction?"

"Mmm, I don't know. Am I?"

"Maybe I should kidnap you." Halo mused.

"Hey, I'm on top here. You don't take me seriously at all, do you? This is a very serious kidnapping." Nine kissed Halo again, just to emphasise his point.

"So hotel room?"

"Yeah."

"The Belmont?"

"Ha, as if I could afford a room there. No, the Travel Inn."

"That Travel Inn?" Halo would have pointed to the hotel that backed onto the bottom of the alley, if he could but the angle was awkward from where he lay.

"Well, yes, you're large, bulky and rather difficult to manoeuvre. Also very noticeable in that bright suit."

"Thanks," Halo smiled.

"You're welcome."

"Did you at least get me the penthouse suite?"

"I don't think it has one. There's the roof, but the pigeons are rather territorial."

"You speak from experience?"

"Don't ask," Nine grinned. With a final peck at Halo's lips he flipped up, onto his feet, offering Halo a hand down, only to quickly retract it as Halo reached for it.

"I wasn't going to pull you down."

"Sure you weren't," Nine smiled, walking down to the bottom of the alleyway, past the backdoors and the bins, until they reached the wrong side of the budget hotel.

"Are we breaking in?" Halo asked.

"Would I, an upstanding member of the community, ever do such a thing? If I were to, and this isn't a confession, I'd surely choose somewhere of a much better class. Executive suite, whirlpool tub, king-sized bed, sound-proofed walls."

"Planning to make a lot of noise?"

"No, you are. You wouldn't happen to have a sound nullifier in that belt of yours?"

"That would be unsanctioned use of heroic equipment. There'd be so many forms to fill in."

"Amn't I worth a few forms? Or we could just let the neighbours hear you scream."

"What am I letting myself in for?"

"Kidnapping. Torture. The usual. Having second thoughts?" Nine asked.

"Never."

Nine smiled, head tilted back, gazing up at the building that towered over them. "You can fly, right?"

Halo looked at Nine. "Beacon of light the glowy stuff not light weight."

"Any good at climbing?" Nine smirked. "I could race you up? Winner gets to claim a prize."

Halo remembered Nine’s acrobatics all too well. The chance to see that limber form leaping up the side of the building was tempting, but not as much as the potential opportunity to win. "Which window?"

Nine pointed to one that was slightly ajar on the third floor. Without warning, a grapple line shot out from his wrist.

Halo grabbed for the light, flinging it downwards propelling himself into the air, making the leap easily, landing on the narrow ledge, easily beating Nine's line-based ascent.

"Cheat." Nine grumbled. "That is not in your power profile." He dragged the window up, past the point that it should have been able to go and tumbled inside the tiny room, dragging Halo with him.

As hotel rooms went it was absolutely nothing like those Halo was used to. It was small and cramped, dominated by the double bed in the middle of the room and the television screen directly opposite it on the wall. He’d to climb over the desk to get properly inside and from there there was nowhere to go but the bed.

"So I'm kidnapped now?" Halo asked.

"Yes. Kindly use your cuffs to tie yourself to the bed, thanks."

Halo reached for the cuffs on his utility belt only to find they weren't there. "You stole my cuffs. Again. Those are expensive."

"It's not stealing if I give it back." Nine grinned. "Can you set up the sound nullifier?"

Halo did at least have that. He tapped it once, waited for it to calibrate and then placed it on the bedside table.

"Do you want some tea?" Not waiting for a response Nine turned his back, and switched the kettle on.

"Is it poisoned?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Yes. Budget Hotels have a habit of poisoning their guests with cheap tea."

"You kidnapped me so we could have a tea-party?"

"Yes. Can’t think what else I might want to do with you."

Halo began to remove his suit, starting with the top. Halo’d watched enough movies to know how this was done. He slowly slid his hands beneath the fabric and began to peel it off, there should be music playing but he could do without.

Nine stopped with the tea-making and stared. Or Halo assumed he was staring, the black lenses over his eyes made it impossible to tell.

"Show me your eyes?"

Nine carefully lifted his helmet off, placing it down on the desk. He was wearing a second mask, beneath the first because of course he was, just a stylised black domino. Nine’s eyes were soft, brown, nothing like Halo remembered. "They were gold."

"Contacts."

"Now or then?" Halo didn't wait for an answer. Just those eyes and he was overwhelmed with such warmth and affection and desire. Shirtless, he padded over to where Nine was still messing around with the tea. "That's not a cat."

"No," Nine admitted.

"Is SexyCatGuyNumberNine even your real name?"

"Is Halo yours?"

"Yes. Well as much as anything is." Halo brushed fingertips over Nine's jaw. "Stop with the tea, the only thing I'm thirsty for is you."

Nine laughed. "That is an absolutely terrible line." His expression softened a moment before doubts crept in. "And this is such a bad, terrible idea."

"Don't care," Halo admitted. "Seems like a brilliant idea to me."

"Fuck it. Fuck you. Fuckety fuck fuck fuck."

Nine pounced, and knocked Halo back on the bed, and there was kissing, and hands Halo could feel, petting and stroking and delicious things done with tongues that sent shivers right through him.

And frustrated attempts to part Nine with his own armour, but they got there, eventually, even if no amount of cajoling could get him to remove the short-sleeved turtleneck he wore beneath. "Not the neck." Nine had said, and Halo couldn't help the sharp tinge of disappointment but he chose not to question it. There was lots more fun to be had.

Mostly there was laughter, so much laughing and it was all filled with more enthusiasm than skill.

The masks were awkward but they kept them on, even if those sharp pointy ears of Nine's kept getting in the way, but Halo didn't want to ask and Nine didn't offer, and they were just getting to the fun part - okay all of it was the fun part and they weren't even naked yet - when an all too familiar voice at the window boomed. "Unhand him."

Solitaire.

* * *

**Three**

Solitaire always cut a striking figure, with his dark hair, and card-themed, red and black outfit, particularly so when hovering three storeys up, cape rustling in a gentle breeze. Since there was no crowds below crying out at his presence, Halo presumed he was using a perception filter of some sort to go unnoticed.

Nine sprung off Halo. "You're late. Someone kidnaps your ward, while he's patrolling, and you take a fucking hour to get here." He snarled at the Hero floating by the window.

"Let him go, Christopher."

"Christopher? What the sort of fucking codename is Christopher. It's Kit. Fox-mask. Kit."

That sounded familiar.

"I went willingly," Halo said.

Solitaire ignored him as he usually did. "Kit, whatever issues you have with me, let the boy go."

"I'm twenty," Halo reminded them for all the good it did.

"Why? It's not like you'd miss him. You'll just get a replacement."

"That was uncalled for."

"No, what's uncalled for is the way you're treating him. You have a responsibility for him which you're fucking failing. He burst into a sex party..."

"What were you doing at a sex party?"

"Not the point, Sol. The question is what was he doing at one."

"His sex life is absolutely none of my business."

"Actually it is when he thinks that men can't be sexually harassed and he has all this outdated and dangerous training. Do your job. Do your fucking job. He is your responsibility. He burst into what he thought was a villain convention and tried to arrest everyone, just to prove himself to you. He's very lucky I stepped in when I did."

"That's not why I did it," Halo interrupted.

"If I could kidnap and manipulate him anyone could. And you must know that his background makes him vulnerable to manipulation."

"Then surely that is all the more reason for you to let him go," Solitaire said reasonably.

"Fuck you. Mike's been lying to him and he doesn't have the frame of reference to know what's a prank and what isn't. The Junion's been slacking off and no one's calling them out on it because boo-hoo their leader died years ago. They need to grow up. I don't care if you're still broken up over Tarot. Halo's going to end up dead and this time it will be your fault. You're not the only one that misses Tarot, but he's gone. Get over it."

"Halo's training is absolutely none of your business," Solitaire replied levelly.

"Fuck you! Fuck you fuck you fuck you. Just… fuck you." Nine's… Kit's… fists clenched and Halo threw himself at the other man, wrapping both arms around him, holding him tight, doing everything to restrain him. The raised voices, the arguing, it all made him uncomfortable particularly since it was supposedly about him but he wasn't even being included in the discussion.

"I will see you at home," Halo said to Solitaire. He didn't even want to think about everything that Nine… Kit had said. "I'm okay, not kidnapped, everything's good, no need to worry about me. Just let me deal with this."

"If you are certain," Solitaire replied.

"Totally," Halo flashed a bright smile and continued to hold onto Nine waiting for Solitaire to disappear.

"So, what should I call you? Is it Kit or Nine?"

"Kit, I guess." Kit slumped in Halo's arms, the fight ebbing away.

"Isn't Kit, Vixen's sidekick?"

"Yes."

"But you're a guy. I thought she only worked with women."

"No. Just she usually mentors women, and all the other Kits have been female. I'm the exception."

"Are you… were you um, trans?"

"No, I'm cis," Kit said.

"So am I. She's a villain?"

"Depends on who you ask. She's not with the Heroes and she actively opposes much of what they do. She has an extremely strong code of ethics and believes a lot of what they do is unjust, so you could say, from her point of view they're the villains. But speak to her, or KitX. Actually don't go to them, just speak to Solitaire. They used to have a thing, before your time."

"Okay. So, speaking of Solitaire, you can't speak to Solitaire like you did. He has a lot of responsibilities. And while I really appreciate that you care enough to have constructed this elaborate scheme you could have talked to me first. I can take care of myself."

Kit listened, actually listened and nodded. "That's fair."

"Were you lovers?"

"No, he's old enough to be my father."

"With Tarot I meant. You know a lot about heroes, and the Junior Union, and you and Solitaire know each other, but you hate him."

"I can't speak about it."

"Okay. Tarot was amazing, I know I never met him, but…"

"Tarot was an idiot who got himself killed," Kit said bitterly.

"And you're worried I'll do the same?"

"Can we speak of anything else. Please."

"So that prize I won when I beat you to the window earlier."

"You cheated. You said you couldn't fly." Kit smiled.

"I implied I couldn't. Which I can't. Or I haven't worked out how to yet. And it's not like we established rules anyway."

"So what do you want?"

"Sex. But that can wait if you're not ready. What we were doing earlier was great, and I'm happy to keep things non-penetrative if that's your preference. And if you're worried about betraying him, well we can take as much time as you need."

"Don't mention him."

"Okay. Would you be willing to go on a date? Hiking, climbing maybe, horseback riding? Sex club?"

Kit laughed at the last. "I shouldn't. You shouldn't. Find yourself a nice boy."

"Where am I going to find another nice boy to go horseback riding with me at the sex club?"

"It's not actual horses there. It's fetish things."

"Maybe later then? I think you're nice. Not too many people that would yell at Solitaire for me, no matter how misguided, or care enough to kidnap me, or leap onto chandeliers to protect me. The way I see it, you meet that sort of guy you grab hold and don't let go. Especially if he plans to leap out a third storey window at one of the most powerful superheroes alive. And if you ever want to talk to me about it, I'd be happy to, and if not, we can still have fun."

Kit kissed him which was about as much an answer as Halo needed.

Maybe one day they'd get to the point where they could speak of things but until then they could leave their masks on.


End file.
